Book shelf or case.



PATENTED DEC. 15, 1903.

H. J. GILL. BOOK SHELF 0R CASE. APPLIUATION mLnnmgo. a, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

N0 MODEL.

No. 747,062. v I PATENTED DEC. 15, 1903.

' H; J. GILL.

BOOK SHELF 0R CASE.

APPLIUATION FILED DBO. 6 1902. N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETSSHEBT 2.

(1595555 1g\z5 km QMWW 5% llnrrnn @TATES Patented December 15, 11903.

HENRY JOSEPH GILL, OF GLONSKEAGH, IRELAND.

BOOK SHELF OR CASE.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No. 747,062, dated December15, 1903.

Application filed December 6, 1902. Serial No. 134,191. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY JOSEPH GILL, a subject of the King of GreatBritain, residing in Olonskeagh, county of Dublin, Ireland, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Book Shelves or Cases,(for which application has been made in Great Britain, No.18,675,datedAugust25,1902, and in Germany, filed October 7, 1902,) of whichthefollowing is afull, clear and exact description, reference being hadto the accompany-- ing drawings, forming a part of this application.

In nearly all bookcases the shelves are made deep enough from front toback to hold the largest books, and consequently those of the shelves inwhich smaller books are placed have a lot of waste space at the back.

The object of my invention is to utilize this vacant space behind and topermit of it being readily got at, so that paper-covered pamphlets androughly-bound books, 820., which are an eyesore in front, can be-storedat the rear, thus giving much additional space.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a general view of a bookcasewith my invention applied thereto; Fig. 2, a vertical section; Fig. 3, asectional plan.

I provide those shelves in the bookcase which require to be used forsmall volumes or for books that leave a vacant space behind with openfront cases A, hinged or pivoted at one end; so that they can be swunginto the shelf B and lie parallel with the front thereof. These cases Aare about the same height as the shelf B; but at rear they leave avacant space 0 behind, and they can also be swung out-ward clear of theshelf, so as to give complete access to the said space at the rear. Thevolumes D are placed in these open-front cases in rows like any ordinaryhook-shelf, being exposed forinspection when the cases are closed in thesame manner as in ordinary bookcases, and other volumes E can be placedin the space behind out of sight. Access can readily be had to those atrear without removing any of the volumes in front by simply swinging theloaded case A out on its pivot, and by so doing the space at rear isfully exposed to view and access had to the contents thereof. A furtheradvantage of the invention is that it prevents the books D at the frontbeing pushed too far back, and thus they are all kept in approximatealinement.

The open-front cases A (which can, however, be provided with glass orother doors in front, if preferred) can be made of any suitable length.A convenient plan is to provide two cases A for each shelf placed end toend and pivoted, respectively, at opposite ends of the shelf B. Anysuitable number of these cases can, however, be used as required. Thereis a gap F between the ends of the cases A to permit of their closingwithout interference with each other, in which gap a book can be placedwhich will prevent the accidental opening of the cases. In order toprevent this being lower than the others by the thickness of the bottomof the case, the bottoms (and tops also, if desired) are continued at Gand the adjacent edges cut diagonal, so that they will abut togetherwhen the cases are swung into the shelves and form a support for a bookthereon.

Fig. 3 shows a book-shelf with three cases to each shelf, pivoted at a.The shelves and cases are made sufficiently strong at the 1 parts wherethe latter are pivoted, so as to resist the weight and leverage pressureof the cases when loaded. I prefer to place the pivots at or near thefront corner in such a manner that when the case is swung out it willalmost or entirely clear the sides of the shelf and nearly fully exposethe space at the rear. The center case is pivoted a little distance fromthe center, as shown, so as to avoid it going farther into the shelfthan the others when swung into the shelf.

Instead of being pivoted to the shelf the cases could be hinged to thesides of the bookcase on the inside.

I declare that what I claim is 1. In book-shelves, the combinationtherewith of open-front cases pivoted at their corners to the front ofsaid shelves, said hinged cases being of less depth than the bookshelveswhereby a space for smaller books is left in the rear and the books inthe pivoted cases are exposed for inspection when said pivoted cases areclosed, substantially as described.

2. In book-shelves, the combination therewith of cases pivoted at theircorners to the front of the shelves, said pivoted cases being of alength to leave a space between their adjacent ends when closed toafiord free opening and closing and to accommodate a book, which when inplace will retain the pivoted cases in closed position, substantially asdescribed.

3. In book-shelves, the combination therewith of open-front cases orboxes for books of such a size as to leave vacant spaces for other booksor articles at the rear, and hinged or pivoted to the shelves so thatwhen swung into the shelves there will be a gap left between

